North East Buses

0910 2C from Washington Galleries is running 8 Minutes Late due to problems with the Bus, Reckon he make up time with out any issues as im the only Passenger on board.

Is Percy Main open on Boxing Day? Hmm, a certain batch of green buses might have a few less occupied seats come January.

(26 Dec 2014, 9:35 am)DaveyBowyer wrote [ -> ]Is Percy Main open on Boxing Day? Hmm, a certain batch of green buses might have a few less occupied seats come January.

Well, since I have mentioned that the Cobalt Clippers are out......that will be a YES 

(26 Dec 2014, 9:25 am)Malarkey wrote [ -> ]0910 2C from Washington Galleries is running 8 Minutes Late due to problems with the Bus, Reckon he make up time with out any issues as im the only Passenger on board.

First 4 was 8 late this morning too. A few used it mind.

(26 Dec 2014, 9:46 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]First 4 was 8 late this morning too. A few used it mind.

Im at Royal Hospital and its pretty much a full load, Driver has gained a mighty 2 Minutes.

9s have been early in Sunderland, carrying very few passengers.

The 60 was pretty full on both saloons, perhaps accounting for its 7 minute delay.

(26 Dec 2014, 6:51 am)nk55 wrote [ -> ]47 is being run by chester.

I know but as i said in my post i just had a small doubt but said that it would be pretty clear that Chester would be operating it anyway...

20 has just pulled in Park Lane absolutely rammed.

(26 Dec 2014, 10:39 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]20 has just pulled in Park Lane absolutely rammed.

That's good, let's hope that continues next boxing day, with the changes!  

(26 Dec 2014, 10:39 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]20 has just pulled in Park Lane absolutely rammed.

The one before it did, too!

Wonder when Arriva will realise that it's quite a lucrative business operating services on Boxing Day - despite the higher costs associated with driver wages!

(26 Dec 2014, 10:42 am)Dan wrote [ -> ]The one before it did, too!

Wonder when Arriva will realise that it's quite a lucrative business operating services on Boxing Day - despite the higher costs associated with driver wages!

Not to mention rewarding to their loyal customers, who use them all year round?

I think the North East were the only Arriva Buses region with no service at all for Boxing Day.

(26 Dec 2014, 10:44 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]Not to mention rewarding to their loyal customers, who use them all year round?

I think the North East were the only Arriva Buses region with no service at all for Boxing Day.

I think its a disgrace, although the closest Arriva services to me is the X21/22/23 from Park Lane, they could of at least ran the services which provide a lot of profit.... 

6094's front display is showing the destination but no service number. Easington Lane bound on the X1.

Not as rare as one would hope! Just sat in Sunderland BK before going to Concord on a fab56 - how much is a 3 zone buzzfare day ranger please?

Another 20 has also left Houghton, Sunderland bound, and it's packed already.

(26 Dec 2014, 11:04 am)northern156 wrote [ -> ]Not as rare as one would hope! Just sat in Sunderland BK before going to Concord on a fab56 - how much is a 3 zone buzzfare day ranger please?

£7.70. =)

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(26 Dec 2014, 11:10 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]Another 20 has also left Houghton, Sunderland bound, and it's packed already.

Hopefully next year they use deckers on it! 

(26 Dec 2014, 11:04 am)northern156 wrote [ -> ]Not as rare as one would hope! Just sat in Sunderland BK before going to Concord on a fab56 - how much is a 3 zone buzzfare day ranger please?

If you're sticking to Tyne and Wear, get a 6.90 day rover, which gets you on Metro and Stagecoach top.

Cheers for the advice - was for my friend who is with me. He'd already bought an all zones Metro ticket never mind.

Haven't been out and about too much today.
Saw and orange Gemini on the X1, but it was too far away to see loads.
There have been people standing waiting for a 4 as usual, but obviously this year it was running!
Only vehicle I saw, was 4937 not too long ago. It had left Houghton roughly 4/5 mins late - it had a few on and was going to pick some up along the way, unless punters fancied standing at bus stops in the cold just for the craic.

Hopefully numbers mean the powers that be, think about keeping it on next year.

Couple of shots taken today...

Go North East: 5306 / NK08CHO by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: 6106 / NL63YCJ by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: 6097 / NL63YJA by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: 4931 / Y931ERG by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: 6094 / NL63XBS by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: 4973 / NK53UNZ by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Do you guys think that next year, GNE could try and run some counterparts to the Blyth and Ashington Express services that don't get provided by Arriva on Boxing Day? It wouldn't hurt giving it a try with a few leftover Blaydon Racer and Crusader Mercs.

(26 Dec 2014, 9:22 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote [ -> ]Do you guys think that next year, GNE could try and run some counterparts to the Blyth and Ashington Express services that don't get provided by Arriva on Boxing Day? It wouldn't hurt giving it a try with a few leftover Blaydon Racer and Crusader Mercs.

Yeah, even if it was hourly.
Could work to provide a half-hourly service between Brunton Park and Newcastle too.

(26 Dec 2014, 9:22 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote [ -> ]Do you guys think that next year, GNE could try and run some counterparts to the Blyth and Ashington Express services that don't get provided by Arriva on Boxing Day? It wouldn't hurt giving it a try with a few leftover Blaydon Racer and Crusader Mercs.

That's a good idea, actually.

Davey, can I ask, do you ever send off your suggestions to the operators your posts regard? It's just they are so well structured, with good reasoning, etc. I'm sure they would find them interesting to read.

(26 Dec 2014, 9:22 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote [ -> ]Do you guys think that next year, GNE could try and run some counterparts to the Blyth and Ashington Express services that don't get provided by Arriva on Boxing Day? It wouldn't hurt giving it a try with a few leftover Blaydon Racer and Crusader Mercs.

Highly doubt it - I don't see the network changing drastically.

Bus drivers, by and large, don't like working Boxing Day. Members of this forum who are bus drivers, whether they work for Go North East or not, will be able to give their views (indeed, nk55 did mention that what is classed as 'triple time' isn't really that, and doesn't make working on Boxing Day worth it). Whilst out and about today, I recognised one or two familiar faces from Bensham working for Riverside... Says a lot when your staff who aren't even normal drivers (although do hold PCV licenses - to make that clear) make appearances on days like this instead!

The extension of one 4 per hour to Houghton instead of all terminating at Fallowfield Way is a start, and I'd imagine that we'll only see subtle differences like this in the future too. For example, if each and every 20 service was rammed today as the first few morning arrivals into Sunderland were, then there'd be scope for a 20 minute frequency instead of half-hourly, even if it was just part of the route (ie Sunderland - Houghton, or similar).

At some point the North East transport network as a whole may have to join the 21st Century and have a decent network on Christmas public holidays (at least for the cities, skeleton at least!) especially since Boxing Day is now a major shopping event and we've of course got football on NYD with our teams in the region having either 52,000 or 45,000 needing to get somewhere

I don't see why they run a service on Easter Sunday when everything is closed yet there's utter horror about New Years Day and Boxing Day. Yes they deserve the time off, everyone does but there's millions of people in 'service' jobs working today. Nurses, pharmacists, doctors, retail, leisure...etc etc etc. If you don't like unsociable hours then sorry, don't enter the industry!

On a side note I do think its woefully bad form that yet again GNE aren't adding at least an extra day to monthly or annual Buzzfares considering there's no service for 2 days. Stagecoach and Arriva are offering good customer service.

And finally my condolences to whoever operated GNE's Facebook page today....

(26 Dec 2014, 9:32 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Highly doubt it - I don't see the network changing drastically.

Bus drivers, by and large, don't like working Boxing Day. Members of this forum who are bus drivers, whether they work for Go North East or not, will be able to give their views (indeed, nk55 did mention that what is classed as 'triple time' isn't really that, and doesn't make working on Boxing Day worth it). Whilst out and about today, I recognised one or two familiar faces from Bensham working for Riverside... Says a lot when your staff who aren't even normal drivers (although do hold PCV licenses - to make that clear) make appearances on days like this instead!

The extension of one 4 per hour to Houghton instead of all terminating at Fallowfield Way is a start, and I'd imagine that we'll only see subtle differences like this in the future too. For example, if each and every 20 service was rammed today as the first few morning arrivals into Sunderland were, then there'd be scope for a 20 minute frequency instead of half-hourly, even if it was just part of the route (ie Sunderland - Houghton, or similar).

Don't forget this time next year the 20 will also go to south shields..not sure how well the 35 does on boxing day or the 29A... but with changes we will probleys see a few changes from Deptfords services on boxing day.

Edit: the 2/2A replacing the 42 will be included.

(26 Dec 2014, 9:22 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote [ -> ]Do you guys think that next year, GNE could try and run some counterparts to the Blyth and Ashington Express services that don't get provided by Arriva on Boxing Day? It wouldn't hurt giving it a try with a few leftover Blaydon Racer and Crusader Mercs.

Why should they? Why should another company take a commercial risk on routes they'd normally not serve, just because the primary operator either can't be bothered with the hassle, or simply doesn't want to risk their profit margin targets for that year.

(26 Dec 2014, 9:54 pm)gtom wrote [ -> ]At some point the North East transport network as a whole may have to join the 21st Century and have a decent network on Christmas public holidays (at least for the cities, skeleton at least!) especially since Boxing Day is now a major shopping event and we've of course got football on NYD with our teams in the region having either 52,000 or 45,000 needing to get somewhere

I don't see why they run a service on Easter Sunday when everything is closed yet there's utter horror about New Years Day and Boxing Day.  Yes they deserve the time off, everyone does but there's millions of people in 'service' jobs working today.  Nurses, pharmacists, doctors, retail, leisure...etc etc etc.  If you don't like unsociable hours then sorry, don't enter the industry!

On a side note I do think its woefully bad form that yet again GNE aren't adding at least an extra day to monthly or annual Buzzfares considering there's no service for 2 days.  Stagecoach and Arriva are offering good customer service.

And finally my condolences to whoever operated GNE's Facebook page today....

I agree with most of what you're saying. Whilst what GNE and Stagecoach ran seemed to be a lot better from what we've had previously, there were still a lot of areas cut off. 

I do think that they'll look at this again for next year though, and as Dan has mentioned, perhaps increase the frequency in areas. For example, the 20 was rammed using Solars, for at least the few hours I seen them. Perhaps it would have been better suited with deckers, or even an extra bus an hour? Same could be said for the X1 frequency. It was running on a 20 min frequency, but each one I seen come in and out of Eldon Square, including the two I used, had really good loads on them. I honestly think they could get away with running a 15 min frequency on that service.

That leads on to another question though. If you've got the demand using the 'express routes' down the major corridors, then what are those passengers doing once they alight? I don't imagine the bus loads getting off the X1 at the Galleries all had a bus home. Perhaps some lucky with the 4 and 2A/2C, but others would have had to make alternative arrangements.

I disagree about providing a service on New Years Day. I've just had a quick swoop, and both the intu centres are closed, so there's most of your potential customers to Gateshead and Newcastle out of the window. Arguably, it's not worth opening the depot, and paying drivers/operational staff, just to sit around most of the day between taking people to the match and then back home from the match. I do feel that operators should be recompensing passengers for those two days of zero service though. I'm an Arriva season ticket holder, and I've had nothing, despite no service for three days out of 8...

Bank Holidays as a whole need looking at in my opinion. I really think that operators could get away with operating a Saturday service on these days, as whenever I'm out on a bank holiday, the demand always seems to be there. When I worked shifts, it was a nightmare getting to work. On a Sunday or Bank Holiday, I had no choice other than to use a taxi. I really don't mind working those days, other than the difficulty of getting to work.

Missing a bank holiday or boxing day really isn't the end of the world. You'd get your hours back anyway, and you can use them on a day you prefer. I'd happily take the lot at the start of the year as an extra week or so of leave, if I had the choice.

(28 Dec 2014, 9:31 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]Why should they? Why should another company take a commercial risk on routes they'd normally not serve, just because the primary operator either can't be bothered with the hassle, or simply doesn't want to risk their profit margin targets for that year.


I agree with most of what you're saying. Whilst what GNE and Stagecoach ran seemed to be a lot better from what we've had previously, there were still a lot of areas cut off. 

I do think that they'll look at this again for next year though, and as Dan has mentioned, perhaps increase the frequency in areas. For example, the 20 was rammed using Solars, for at least the few hours I seen them. Perhaps it would have been better suited with deckers, or even an extra bus an hour? Same could be said for the X1 frequency. It was running on a 20 min frequency, but each one I seen come in and out of Eldon Square, including the two I used, had really good loads on them. I honestly think they could get away with running a 15 min frequency on that service.

That leads on to another question though. If you've got the demand using the 'express routes' down the major corridors, then what are those passengers doing once they alight? I don't imagine the bus loads getting off the X1 at the Galleries all had a bus home. Perhaps some lucky with the 4 and 2A/2C, but others would have had to make alternative arrangements.

I disagree about providing a service on New Years Day. I've just had a quick swoop, and both the intu centres are closed, so there's most of your potential customers to Gateshead and Newcastle out of the window. Arguably, it's not worth opening the depot, and paying drivers/operational staff, just to sit around most of the day between taking people to the match and then back home from the match. I do feel that operators should be recompensing passengers for those two days of zero service though. I'm an Arriva season ticket holder, and I've had nothing, despite no service for three days out of 8...

Bank Holidays as a whole need looking at in my opinion. I really think that operators could get away with operating a Saturday service on these days, as whenever I'm out on a bank holiday, the demand always seems to be there. When I worked shifts, it was a nightmare getting to work. On a Sunday or Bank Holiday, I had no choice other than to use a taxi. I really don't mind working those days, other than the difficulty of getting to work.

Missing a bank holiday or boxing day really isn't the end of the world. You'd get your hours back anyway, and you can use them on a day you prefer. I'd happily take the lot at the start of the year as an extra week or so of leave, if I had the choice.

You could possibly make the same argument over the provision of services on Easter Sunday. Most supermarkets and shopping centres are closed so I imagine patronage will be down compared to any other Sunday in the calendar.

(28 Dec 2014, 10:37 am)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]You could possibly make the same argument over the provision of services on Easter Sunday. Most supermarkets and shopping centres are closed so I imagine patronage will be down compared to any other Sunday in the calendar.

Aye, that too! I think as soon as shopping centres and the high street is closed, then you instantly lose the commercial justification to run a service, under the commercial model. Whether that's morally right or wrong is another discussion...

(28 Dec 2014, 10:37 am)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]You could possibly make the same argument over the provision of services on Easter Sunday. Most supermarkets and shopping centres are closed so I imaigine patronage will be down compared to any other Sunday in the calendar.

I think you'd be very surprised the amount of passengers who travel on easter sunday knowing that the major centres are closed but go anyway!!. Boxing day should be a saturday service between 10 & 6 on all routes and maybe a skeleton service on easter sunday. Theres no need for buses on new years day.